Comments on: Equality and the 6+5 Rule

By: ennio

ennio — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 21:09:13 +0000

To me it is terribly disturbing to see a team like Arsenal or Inter fielding a starting line-up of non-English or non-Italian players; how could an Englishman or an Italian support such a team? Teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus and Milan have a better approach to the problem. If I am correct I think these teams have enjoyed the bulk of their success when the bulk of the players on the field were from their respective countries.

By: 6 + 5 AND THE CELLING OF THE HIVE | Footsmoke

6 + 5 AND THE CELLING OF THE HIVE | Footsmoke — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:18:31 +0000

[...] that lies at the heart of the democratic world. As Brian Phillips points out in his brilliant blog, The Run of Play, the 6 + 5 rule would prevent an African or Asian player from getting the same “money, fame, [...]

By: Elliott

Elliott — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:26:03 +0000

I think that clubs will just get players at younger age to ensure they can naturalize. This will change nothing, except that Cesc Fabregas would have dual citizenship.

Also, the question of legality depends on if there is a “right” to play in the CL. Right now, Blatter’s spin on the matter is that no club has an intrinsic right to play CL football – it is a privilege with requirements. He wants to create a license to play.

For example, I want to drive a car. Do I have a right to drive a car? No. I need a license.

Another example. I want to play soccer with some quality players at a park on sunday morning. However, after a few touches they see me for the scrub I am. They ask me to leave. Do I have a right to play soccer with that specific group of people?

By: A.

A. — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 02:10:21 +0000

If a team were able to only keep 5 Non-EU or “foreign” players on their roster, then it would be against the freedom of movement laws of the EU.

But as I see it, these proposals don’t restrict clubs to only 5 foreigners on their roster, but only on the playing field. A similar regulation was in place in the early 90′s in the immediate aftermath of the Bosman ruling.

I don’t see how the EC can ‘force’ tasks onto employees, e.g. you must play.

By: ursus arctos

ursus arctos — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:17:33 +0000

Agreed.

The Commission would of course claim that the principle has a moral base (as well as an economic one), but the force of that claim is weakened by the fact that the principle only applies to EU citizens.

The moral claim you are making is much broader.

By: Brian Phillips

Brian Phillips — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:52:00 +0000

Yeah, at least based on what I understand about the EU’s freedom of movement laws, I agree that the 6+5 rule is illegal. The INEA report last week was so comical I couldn’t even find a way to write about it that didn’t feel like cheating. (The INEA listed FIFA in the “Our Partners” section of their website until right around the moment people started questioning the independent nature of the investigation, at which point, whoosh, no more FIFA.)

I still think it’s worth arguing against the rule on moral grounds, though. That is, I think it would be a bad idea even if the law changed or the EU followed through on all this week’s headlines and dissolved in acrimony.

By: ursus arctos

ursus arctos — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:20:25 +0000

Yes, and the European Commission came out to reiterate that after the Blatter-commissioned “independent panel” suggested otherwise.

By: Ty Keenan

Ty Keenan — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:31:21 +0000

I’m with ursus on this one. I’m no law whiz, but doesn’t every prior ruling suggest it would be struck down?

By: ursus arctos

ursus arctos — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:17:21 +0000

I remain mainfestly unconvinced that the current version of 6+5 would survive a freedom of movement-based challenge in an EU court.

By: Jerry

Jerry — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:52:38 +0000

It seems like a good way of addressing the inequality issues in European soccer would be an NBA-style system with salary caps and player trades. I kind of like that system as a middle ground between the absolute equality of the NFL (which makes it almost impossible to maintain a stable team) and the free-for-all that is European soccer (where wealthy clubs basically pillage poorer ones). Of course, you’d never get those clubs to go along with it, but one can dream.